There is a widespread need for hand-held flashlights and cameras. In the fields of safety and security, there is also a need for evidence detection and collection.
Law enforcement, safety and security personnel have access to an array of devices which aid them in their work. Such devices include flashlights, still and video cameras, and breathalyzers. Typically, however, due to weight or space constraints, an officer or security guard must choose the tools he or she will carry on his or her person and leave other tools behind at the station or in a vehicle. Understandably, an officer's need for safety weighs heavily on the choice of what to carry. When entering a dark alley, an officer will likely choose to carry a flashlight rather than a camera.
In other words, the number of tools an officer might need in a given day can easily exceed the number of devices the officer can conveniently carry on his or her person. Thus, there is a need for a compact tool kit for safety and security officers. Examples of devices suitable for inclusion in such a kit include flashlights, cameras, chemical and physical sensors, time-date stamping and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
Flashlights
Recent flashlight technology “takes advantage of the efficiency of high-intensity, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the visible spectrum and/or infra-red (IR) or ultra-violet (UV),” and of “the low-voltage properties of CMOS integrated circuits and components” (See, U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,661 issued to Lebens, et.al.) In Lebens, an LED housing is attached to the front end of a flashlight and serves as the illumination source of the flashlight.
Variously colored LEDs can be used for specialized purposes. For example, LEDs producing long-wavelength light, (660 nm or longer), can be used underwater at night without disturbing sea life activity. Short-wavelength blue and UV LEDs can be used with a UV filter to view fluorescing materials, such as security stamps. IR LEDs are used for military or police purposes in night-vision equipment. LEDs of various “viewing” angles have been used to achieve wide-angle, narrow-angle, and long-range viewing. A Fresnel lens (or other lens or reflector arrangement) has been used to provide a focusable light source. And, polarizers have been used to reduce reflections. Modern flashlights utilize quickly and easily pluggable/replaceable LED arrays or heads of various shapes, colors, and/or viewing angles for different applications. Also, as noted in Lebens, LED intensity can be controlled by changing the pulse width.
Imaging
Today most portable camcorders are typically used in a raised position, with the camera held in front of the user's eye both for stability and for picture composition. That is, the viewer typically likes to have the camera view the scene at the same angle the user is viewing the scene. In fact, the typical camcorder user has a much greater interest in the aesthetics of the recording than in using the recording as a collection of data which can later be used as evidence.
When working at a scene which has been secured, law enforcement and security personnel use video and still cameras in the same manner as the amateur or professional photographer, holding the camera up and looking at a scene through a lens or viewing the scene on a display. However, when in hot pursuit, to look through a lens or to view a monitor, is a distraction that places the officer at risk of being harmed.
When using a camcorder, law enforcement and security personnel have an interest not only in obtaining images at a secure scene but also in capturing sequences of events as they occur. Law enforcement and security personnel have a need to record events without prior planning. When faced with the need to capture events as they occur, the exact picture composition becomes less important.
For example, in a chase, it is desirable to record a fleeing suspect or vehicle. At the same time, law enforcement and security personnel must be attentive to the safety of themselves and others who might be present. A clear understanding of the events of a chase may be obtainable only on a retrospective review of the chase. The accuracy of that review is improved if a recording of the chase is available. Some events that were missed by an officer in hot pursuit may be picked up on a recording. Therefore, law enforcement and security personnel have a need for a camera that can be used without distracting them from the task at hand.
Light-Imaging Combinations
Lighting has been developed for use with still and video cameras to assure that an adequate amount of light is available to allow an image to be captured. That is, historically, the light source supports the still or movie recording function of a still or movie camera.
The lighting may be mounted on or inside a still or video camera.
In one embodiment of Lebens, an LED housing is attached to a conventional camcorder to serve as a lighting source for the camcorder. That is, the light source is added to the camera. The LED housing and the camcorder do not share the same optical axis. This is illustrated in FIG. 5 of Lebens. And, furthermore, the LED housing as illustrated in FIG. 5 of Lebens does not function independently as a flashlight.
When using artificial lighting in conjunction with a still picture camera or moving picture recorder, the user is concerned only with the lighting conditions at the time a picture is being taken or a movie is being recorded. Typically, when an artificial lighting device is integrated with a still picture camera or a moving picture recorder, the lighting device only functions when a picture is being taken or a movie is being recorded. That is, the illumination is on only when the camera is running. And, the synchronization of a flash to the opening of a shutter or of the pulsation of lighting to the frame rate of a recorder is often desirable.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,661 issued to Lebens, et.al., the inventors note, in column 7, line 62 to column 8, line 7:                In one such embodiment, flashlight 100 is used in conjunction with a portable video camcorder or other video camera, and feedback 160 measures the overall ambient light and provides a signal that allows generation of flashlight pulses to compensate for lack of light, in order to provide optimal lighting for the video camera. In one such embodiment, the pulses to the LEDs are synchronized to the video camera frame rate using optional pulse synchronization (sync) signal 170 in order that the light pulse from LEDs 150 is only on when the video camera shutter is collecting light (avoiding light output when the camera will not benefit from it). (Emphasis Added)        
Notably, although Lebens, presents various examples of using an LED flashlight, Lebens never inserts a video recording device inside a flashlight housing. For example, Lebens writes:                In one such embodiment, long-wavelength LEDs, 660 nm or longer, are used to provide underwater divers or aquarium enthusiasts a light source for observing undersea life at night without adversely affecting the nocturnal activities of such wildlife. This functionality is also useful for tropical aquarium owners who also wish to observe the nocturnal activities of the occupants of their aquariums. (Emphasis Added)        
A distinct advantage of the present invention, is that an enthusiast can not only observe the activity of a desired subject, but can also record that subject with the same convenience and ease as holding and operating a conventional flashlight with a single hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,432 issued to Yarush, et al is an example of a camera developed for a special function. Yarush, et. al. discloses an endoscope in which a lens is optically coupled to an imaging system and the light source transmits light through the lens. As noted in Yarush, “The practitioner then views the illuminated object on the video monitor.” In Yarush, a video capability is added to an endoscope and the camera utilizes the light source of the endoscope.
In the invention disclosed herein, various data collection sensors are integrated with a flashlight thereby improving the process of evidence collection.